Swallowed Up in Death
by Vivian Verbose
Summary: In the end, Gin died a hero. But his death is complicated. Rangiku is offered a chance to bring back the one she loved - but she must travel to a place beyond the realm of shinigami and humans. A place where nothing exists. And nothing is certain. GinRan
1. The Death of a Hero

The ground darkened with his blood

The narrow street on the outskirts of Karakura Town was pitted with craters and swathed in patches of darkness where the battle had toppled light poles. The dust settled.

"Gin!" Rangiku stepped forward. A hand clamped down on her shoulder, holding her back.

She whipped her head around. "Taichou–"

Hitsugaya couldn't meet his lieutenant's eyes. Rangiku could see him struggling inside, his expression pained.

Her vision misted over. "Taichou. Please," she tried not to beg.

_You would do it for Hinamori-san_, she tried not to scream out. _You would run to the one you loved – even if she was a traitor._

"Go." Hitsugaya released her.

Rangiku wasted no more time. A shunpo and she was by his side. "Gin!"

His body was torn. His once-white uniform was drenched black with blood. His breaths came ragged and uneven. His hand still clenched his sword.

Shinsou's bankai had faded away – a sure sign that Gin was dying. By willpower alone, Rangiku knew, Gin kept his zanpakuto extended in its shikai form, but that too would soon fade.

Her knees grew weak, and she pretended to drop to his side on her own free will.

She reached forward. And then caught herself. She hesitated, struggling.

This was the man who had betrayed her and everything she held dear. This was the man who had broken her heart again and again – and had never once looked back. This was the man who she had sworn to never love again.

But she still did, didn't she?

Rangiku felt a momentary flare of anger within her breast. The striking of self-loathing.

She was still here, kneeling before his dying body. Didn't that mean that she still cared for him? That she was still a fool? That she still loved him?

She suddenly realized that she was crying. Tears carved desperate streams down her cheeks. They dropped from her face and fell, mingling with the blood on the ground. She clenched her eyes closed.

She couldn't love him still – could she?

"Gin…" she whimpered. "Naze…?" _Why?_

A hand clasped hers.

Rangiku's eyes flew open.

Gin smiled up at her. Shinsou lay abandoned on the ground, still in extended form. Gin's eyes were open.

"Rangiku's cryin'," he whispered softly. His smirk was gentle. "She shouldn't be cryin' for someone like me."

"Baka," she choked out. She cradled his hand in hers. His skin was smooth and cold.

She pressed his hand in hers over her heart. Her heart… It hurt so much. So much.

A sob strangled her throat. She tried to hold it back. Tried to be brave. Tried to finally be the one to show no emotion and show him that he meant nothing to her.

A thin wail escaped her barricades.

Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. The droplets hovered at her chin before falling to the ground and shattering.

"Ran-gi-ku," Gin lilted slightly in a singsong voice. A ghost of his old grin flitted across his lips. "Don't cry, please."

She felt another stab strike her heart. So he was trying to protect her too? Even now?

She looked into his eyes. She hadn't seen them in so long. Pale red – but dimming more and more every second as she watched the life seep out through his eyes.

"Your eyes…" Rangiku felt the sad smile before she could stop it. "They're open."

She felt Gin strengthen his hold on her hand the slightest bit. She squeezed back automatically.

"I wanted ta see Rangiku-chan's face one last time," he said. A ragged, painful breath shook his body. His smile faltered for half an instant.

Rangiku choked back another sob. There was no use in denying that Gin was going to die. Even as she tried to calculate the amount of time necessary for the Fourth Division to administer aid, she knew – deep in her heart – that they would not arrive in time to save him.

Hope was lost.

The sob broke free.

Rangiku clenched Gin's hand tighter, feeling her warm, liquid tears smear between their entwined palms. One hand was not enough. She needed to caress his face. Smooth his hair. Press her lips to his. One last time before he was gone.

The pain in her chest overcame her.

With a desperate cry, Rangiku plunged to embrace him. Unmindful of his broken body, she frantically gripped his shoulders. Buried her head in the crook of his neck. Cried without shame. Anything to get closer to him. Anything to stave off the inevitable coldness that would snatch him away and never, ever give him back.

Her passion boiled over into a swift, mindless anger. It wasn't fair. He hadn't been fair to her.

"Gin!" she shouted. "You bastard! You stupid bastard! _Why?!_" She pounded a fist into his chest. She broke down again, weeping uncontrollably.

A soft hand stroked her cheek, trying to stem the flow of tears.

"I'm so sorry, Rangiku," Gin whispered into her hair. "I did it to protect you."

"Liar!" she shot back at him. She searched his face for further proof, but his eyes held a sincerity that she could not dispute. Her rage faltered. "Liar," she whispered with feeble venom.

"I'm sorry," Gin continued to stroke her cheek.

Rangiku could feel the thin trail of blood that his fingers left as they caressed her skin. She could feel his ribcage, broken and cracked, trying to expand and force air through his body.

Gin took a sunken, labored breath. A sudden cough racked his body. Blood splattered to the ground.

Rangiku raised her head from his shoulder. A thin line of blood traced its way from the corner of his mouth.

"Gin…" Her rage left her. Despair took its rightful place in her heart.

"I'm sorry I left you all those years b'fore in Rukongai," he whispered. Rangiku watched his eyes sadden at the memory. "I want'd to go to Seireitei so I could become a shinigami to protect you. But… I never managed to get back."

"I know," Rangiku whispered. "You found Aizen."

"After I learn'd the true nature of his zanpakuto," Gin continued, "I never open'd my eyes – even when I wasn't 'round him."

Rangiku's own eyes widened. So he had known from the beginning? Then why didn't he–

"I did everything to protect you," Gin repeated. He brought a shaking hand to tilt Rangiku's chin up to face him. Dimmed red burned into pale blue. "Gomen-ne, Rangiku-chan. I never meant to hurt you in the process."

Rangiku's eyes brimmed with unshed tears. He had betrayed her and everyone else. He had known that she would never forgive him – that she would curse herself for ever falling in love with him. He had endured her hatred to protect her from what she was not strong enough to defeat.

He had gone behind enemy lines knowing that he would probably never return alive.

He had done it all to protect her.

Rangiku gripped desperate handfuls of his cloak. Her eyes clenched close. She had been such a fool. "Gin… I'm sorry–"

Gentle lips met hers. They assured her of his forgiveness. They assured her of his love.

They made her fall even deeper into despair.

Why now? Why would he have to die now? Everything was set to right now because of him, but after his death, nothing would be right ever again.

She pressed back hungrily against his lips. She slid her tongue into his mouth and tasted blood.

Gin let her recoil.

Suddenly, another spasming cough rattled his thin frame. Blood splattered heavily onto her clothes.

Gin smiled weakly. His eyes drooped, as if he was fighting to keep them open.

"Rangiku…" he murmured softly. He caressed her name in his mouth, savoring its feel. One last time. "I still love you."

She held him close. She pressed her head into his chest. She could hear his heart slowing. Slowing. Slowing.

"Oh, Gin," she whispered through her tears. "I love you too."

Stopped.

A desperate, horrified wail pierced the night.

Shinsou retracted to its normal form, leaving a gaping hole in Aizen's dead body a few yards away.

--

There must have been quiet footsteps to announce his approach, but Rangiku did not hear them. Her sorrow overwhelmed her senses – severing sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

She only knew that Gin was gone forever. The hero who had outwitted Aizen. The friend who had sacrificed himself for her. The man who she had never stopped loving.

He was gone.

She buried her head in Gin's cold chest and wept.

"Yare, yare…"

Rangiku's head snapped up. "Urahara-san?"

Her eyes narrowed. Her hand flew to Haineko's hilt.

Urahara didn't flinch. His hat brim hid his eyes in shadow, and he held a fan loosely in one hand, effectively hiding the rest of his face.

"He is no longer a traitor. You will not take his body," Rangiku said with solid determination. "Even if I have to stop you myself."

She began to draw Haineko out.

Urahara chuckled. "Matsumoto-san. Let's not be so hasty," he said in a mockingly lilting voice. He paused for a long, tense moment. Rangiku felt her muscles quivering from the anticipation.

Then Urahara glanced up. "Would you like to bring him back?"

Her hand faltered. "What–?"

"There is a way," Urahara said slowly, "to bring back Gin's soul."

"That's not possible," Rangiku stared hard at the exile. "What do you gain from lying to me?" She fought to keep the desperate, pleading tone from creeping into her voice. She fought to keep control.

But at the first sign of hope, she felt that control slipping. What if it really was possible?

"Why would I lie to you?" Urahara laughed again. He stopped when he realized that Rangiku wasn't laughing along.

"Shinigami souls are reincarnated. Just like all the others," Rangiku said coldly. "There is no way to bring him back."

It was common knowledge. Even shinigami souls died eventually – usually a violent death – and when death claimed the soul, it was sent back to Earth.

This reincarnation was part of the balance between the souls in life and death that shinigami protected. Even shinigami knew that in the after life, one could not cheat second death.

When a soul was reincarnated, it lost all memories of its past life and was reborn as a human on Earth.

In this way, the soul that had once been Gin was now gone forever.

Rangiku's grip on Haineko's hilt tightened.

But she could not bring herself to unsheathe her zanpakuto.

Urahara waved his fan nonchalantly. "Human and shinigami souls get reincarnated. Hollows get sent to Soul Society or Hell."

He paused for effect.

Rangiku waited, barely daring to breathe. What was he getting at?

"Where do the arrancar souls go?" Urahara asked. His dagger-gaze skewered Rangiku.

Her mind churned.

Where _did_ the arrancar go? Half shinigami, half hollow. Rangiku frowned. "Don't they go to Soul Society?"

"Wrong answer!" Urahara waved his fan lightly in her direction. He regained his seriousness and hid his eyes behind his hat once more. "And the vizard?"

Rangiku found a horrible sinking beginning in her stomach. "What does this have to do with Gin?" she demanded.

Urahara stepped forward and knelt by Gin's body.

Rangiku couldn't move to stop him. Her head spun and her stomach ached. Anxiety and fear had frozen her inside and out.

She could only watch as Urahara reached for Gin's bloodstained hakama. He parted the garment at the chest.

Gin's bloody wound was not as deep as Rangiku had thought. A flicker of white showed as Urahara continued to pull away at the dark, blood-drenched fabric.

Suddenly, she realized what Urahara meant.

Urahara stood back, surveying his handiwork. Rangiku's eyes widened while the rest of her body froze.

A white mask, pure as freshly fallen snow, rested on Gin's chest. It had blocked the brunt of Aizen's final blow. Suddenly the cracked hollow mask shuddered and shattered into a million little pieces, strewn on the wind.

Gin was an vizard.


	2. A New Beginning

Hello! Sorry... It's been a long time since I've updated anything - let alone this.

Did anyone think I was dead? Well... I kinda was... The last week of school kinda sucks your soul out through a straw... A bendy straw. xP

I seriously wrote... 3 chapters, deleted them all because they dabbled around unimportant stuff, and then I wrote all this in the span of three days. xD

Hahaha... Just need the right inspiration I guess... And the time... Oh, the time...

Dedicated to my very very patient, loving, and forgiving friend, Jennifer. :P

Disclaimer: Yeah.

Btw, when I italicize things, it's usually because it's either a dream sequence, a flashback, or someone's inner thoughts.

--

_Fully healed, Rukia sprinted through the palace in Hueco Mundo. The hallways no longer swiveled around and crossed in on each other like a maze. _

_A single, spotlessly white hallway shot straight down the center of Aizen's Las Noches. _

_Rukia followed it. Her breath came in short, hasty pants. _Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. _She could hear the battle raging in the throne room. The sound shook the floor beneath her feet and more than once, she stumbled because of the unsteady ground._

"_Damn," she cursed as the walls and ceiling shuddered again. _

_She quickened her pace. Almost there. The explosions rocking the building were getting louder and more violent. _

_Rukia imagined him. Bloodied. Battered. Broken. And still fighting. _

_Maybe even using that damned hollow mask._

_Rukia didn't care what the Vizard said. Every time Ichigo drew that thing on, she felt a little bit more of him slip away into the madness. One day, she feared, Ichigo would die completely to that creature, and she would have to kill it in his body. She feared that day with all her heart._

_She quickened her pace._

_A door marred the end of the hall._

_She didn't have time to stop and open it. _

"_Sode no Shirayuki. Tsugi no mai, hakuren!"_

_The door exploded in a shattering of ice chips. _

_Rukia leapt through, zanpakuto extended. _

"_Kuchiki-san!"_

_Rukia barely had time to twirl Sode no Shirayuki down and perform First Dance. "Some no mai, tsukishiro!"_

_A heavy chunk of ceiling buckled and cracked within the pillar of ice. Rukia held her breath but the ice held. She glanced sharply towards the source of the voice._

_Orihime waved cheerfully, despite the hole blown clean through the ceiling, the two-ton chunks of white stone raining down, and the fact that she was in the middle of a healing. But Rukia saw Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka shield above her and spotted Ishida using his new Quincy bow to shatter the bigger pieces of stone tumbling down. Nell Tu huddled by Orihime's leg and waved at Rukia before shuddering back as a bigger piece of stone crashed onto the glowing shield. _

_Under Orihime's shield and healing Souten Kisshun, lay a shock of red hair. _

_Rukia sighed, relieved. Renji was safe after all. _

The idiot probably got hit over the head with a rock_, thought Rukia irritably. _

_Rukia waved back with less enthusiasm and turned to look at the rest of the room. Now that she knew everyone was safe, she had more pressing matters to attend to. _

_Where was Ichigo?_

_A loud explosion shook everything. Rukia turned quickly to the left, her back to Orihime. A sharp movement caught her eye. If she looked hard enough, she could see a black blur and two white blurs hurtling across the broken ground and ricocheting off the walls to attack. A bright red cero blast spiraled through the air, missed its target, and crashed into the adjacent wall. _

_The wall collapsed and the rest of the room cracked dangerously. Or at least, Rukia supposed that it was the rest of the room._

"_Kuchiki-san!" Orihime shrieked. _

_Rukia turned back. Her eyes widened in panic. "Ah–!"_

_The five-ton tower of stone and ice shattered. _

_Orihime screamed. _

_Rukia saw the largest broken block fall towards her and knew with dreaded certainty that Byakuya nii-sama would not be able to save her this time. She shut her eyes and waited. _

_The crash was tremendous. The column of ice added almost triple the mass of the original stone block and all that smashed into the ground, sending deadly ice-shards ricocheting across the room. _

_But Rukia felt none of it._

_Slowly, slowly she opened her eyes._

_Orange._

_Her eyes flew open. "Ichi – go…" Her voice died._

_A different man looked down at her through a white hollow mask. He set her on her feet and half a moment later disappeared back into battle. "Ichigo…" But it wasn't him completely._

_When you borrow power, there is always a price._

_Rukia felt something wet trickle down her neck. She reached back and brought her hand forward._

_Blood. _

_Her eyes widened, and then she realized that she felt no pain. It was Ichigo's blood. She could still feel his gentle hand supporting her neck as he snatched her from danger. _

_A giant tremor shattered her thoughts, and she braced herself for further explosions. But none came. All was still._

_A soft thud echoed through the silence. The sound of a broken body falling to the floor._

"_No!" Before she knew what she was doing, Rukia had taken three shunpo strides across the battleground._

_She crouched low, ready to attack and be attacked. Then she saw him. _

_The man in the black cape lined with silken red still stood. His orange hair waved in the breeze. His strong back faced her. _

_But beside him –_

_An arrancar! An _Espada!

_Grimmjow._

_He had almost killed them both. Rukia tightened her grip on her zanpakuto._

"_Ichigo…" It came out low – a warning._

_He perked up and turned._

_She nearly sighed in relief. The mask was gone. And he was smiling. _

"_Oi, Rukia. Don't wear such a stupid expression," he said and smirked. Blood trickled down freely from the gash on his forehead. A chest and shoulder wound darkened his black cape. _

"_Fool!" Rukia managed. "Get Orihime. She needs to–"_

_His smile widened, but his eyes closed. "You really are an idiot–" Ichigo fell forward on unsteady feet._

_A shunpo and she caught him. Then his weight overwhelmed her, and she felt her knees buckle. _

_An arm shot out and grabbed Ichigo's shoulder and eased him to the ground. Rukia looked up, bewildered. Grimmjow? "You…"_

"_Kurosaki-kun!"_

"_Kurosaki!"_

_Orihime and Ishida sprinted in. Ishida immediately had a Seele Schneider in hand, strung in his bow, and aimed at the arrancar hovering over Ichigo's battered body. _

"_You bastard." Ishida spat out._

_Grimmjow made no move to attack. He just glared at the Quincy. _

"_Leave him."_

_Ishida faltered. He glanced down. "But, Kurosaki–"_

"_Leave him," Ichigo repeated. Orihime rushed to his side. _

"_Kurosaki-kun!"_

_Rukia stepped back and sheathed her zanpakuto. "Orihime. Help him."_

_Orihime worked fast. _

_Rukia forced herself to watch. It would soothe her pangs of jealousy, she told herself. _

_When that didn't work, Rukia called herself an idiot. _Who would fall for such a worrisome fool? That's all that Ichigo is. Definitely. Orihime can have…him…_ Rukia ground out in her mind. Her heart protested with every fiber in her soul, but her mind was firmly resigned. _

"_What the hell do you want, bastard?"_

_Rukia glanced up. Grimmjow had finally snapped under Ishida's harsh, unwavering gaze. _

_Ishida's foot edged back, but he held his ground. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. They glinted dangerously in the light, hiding his piercing gaze. "Why did you switch sides?"_

_Grimmjow looked away. "I got sick of what I'd become," he said simply._

_Ishida followed his gaze. His eyes widened. "What–?"_

_Rukia peeked through the gap between Ishida and Grimmjow. A body lay on the uneven floor. It was clad in torn, bloodied white and through one of the longer gashes, Rukia could see the dark ink of a tattoo. _

"_Four…" she read under her breath. So it was another of the Espada?_

"_That bastard is dead, but there are still three more Espada left. Aizen took them as back-up to the real world," Grimmjow said. _

"_Aizen's real goal was Karakura Town, right?" Ishida turned back to Grimmjow with a frown. _

"_Yeah," replied the arrancar. He wiped away a trickle of blood that was falling into his eye. "He's going to harvest all the souls in that town to complete the Ouken – the key to Soul Society's king. With Tousen and Gin and three Espada, it's going to take a helluva force to stop him."_

_Ishida frowned. "Soul Society didn't fall for Aizen's trap so easily. They have several of the remaining captains waiting for him in Karakura Town. But still… We can't go help. We're stuck here. Aizen closed all of Urahara's garganta back to the living world."_

_Grimmjow nodded. "He also said he was locking all dimensional space until he achieved victory."_

"_So a portal would be impossible to make."_

_Grimmjow leered. "I didn't fuckin' say impossible, Quincy. I could probably tear through the lock and create a garganta."_

_Ishida's frown brightened. "So we can get back to help?"_

"_No. I can only make it for a little while. Only one person – maybe two – can make it back before I lose the strength to keep the damned thing open."_

_Ishida's expression fell again. "I hate to admit it, but the most eligible person to save Karakura is…" He glanced down at Ichigo healing under Orihime's Souten Kisshun. _

_Grimmjow grunted in reluctant agreement. _

_Ichigo's eyes snapped open. He sat up, still bathed in orange. He struggled to his feet, but Rukia could see that it still pained him to move. _

"_Idiots," Ichigo growled. He flashed a glare at Ishida and Grimmjow. "Don't go killing me off."_

_The glow from Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka faded as Ichigo stood. _

_Orihime reached forward as Ichigo struggled to stay standing. "But Kurosaki-kun! You aren't fully healed yet!"_

_Ichigo looked Orihime in the eye. "Arigatou, Inoue, but I have to go."_

_Orihime opened her mouth to protest, but caught the determination in his eyes and backed down. "I understand," she murmured. _

_She looked so forlorn that Ichigo moved to pat her on the back – but a blur of white cut past his hand._

_Ichigo blinked. "Ishida?"_

_Ishida wrapped a protective arm around Orihime's shoulders. Rukia noted that Orihime made no move to back away from his touch. _

_Ichigo smirked._

_In return, Ishida scowled and turned to Grimmjow. "You should open the garganta now–" and to Ichigo – "Hurry up, you idiot. You're probably missing the battle."_

_Grimmjow smirked at Ichigo's expression and stepped back. He thrust his hand into the air. Eyes closed. Fingers trembling. Searching, searching._

_His fingers curled. Then grasped something._

_His eyes flew open. With a yell, Grimmjow pulled up with one hand and pulled down with the other._

_Rukia squinted. The tiniest of spots hovered between his fingers. Then it stretched bigger. Slowly and painfully, the hole reached the size of a marble, then a __100 coin, then the size of a dreaded juice box. _

"_Alright," Rukia reached for Sode no Shirayuki's hilt. She smiled grimly. "Let's go."_

"_Baka." Ichigo glanced at her over his shoulder._

_She frowned automatically. "What now?"_

"_I'm the only one that's going."_

_Rukia exploded. "What the hell? Who the hell do you think you are – so high and mighty?!"_

_Ichigo turned to face her. His usual scowl deepened. "I can't let you go, Rukia."_

"_Why?" she demanded, furious._

"_Because I can't almost lose you again, you idiot!" he snapped back._

"_I can take care of myself!" Rukia responded indignantly. _

_Ichigo stepped forward, and was silent for a moment, studying her. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and forceful. _

"_I need to protect you – I need to save you."_

_His tone enraged Rukia all the more. "I don't _want_ your stupid protection, and I certainly don't _need_ you to save me!"_

"_No!" Ichigo grabbed her shoulders roughly._

"_What–" Shocked into submission, Rukia froze. _

"_If I can't save you, then how can I save myself?" he demanded. _

_An image of Ichigo in his hollow mask, writhing against it – eyes desperate and wild – flashed through Rukia's mind. _

_Ichigo looked at her, and Rukia saw all of the fear and longing and pain and doubt that was slowly eating away at him. This was the vulnerable side that he was always hiding from the world under his scowl and cool facade. _

"_Ichigo." Rukia's hand moved on its own accord. Her fingers alighted softly on his cheek._

_A broken, shuddering sigh escaped him. _

_He moved with such swiftness that it left Rukia reeling for minutes afterwards, wondering if it had all been a crazy, horrible, amazing dream. _

_Ichigo stepped forward. His hands dug sharply into her shoulders. _

_She gasped at the pressure and suddenly his lips were pressed hungrily against hers. Without any resistance, he slid his tongue into her mouth and quickly explored her before retreating._

_Ichigo stepped back, smirked at her lost expression, and ducked through the portal that Grimmjow struggled to hold open._

_In the ruins of Los Noches, before a very shocked audience, Rukia pressed a shaking hand to her startled lips. _

--

Urahara Kisuke sighed as he sat down on the straw mats in his shop's back room. If he didn't know any better, he would've sworn that he was getting too old for these kinds of battles. Not to mention the clean up that everyone expected him to oh-so-thoroughly complete afterwards.

Urahara tapped his closed fan against the brim of his hat as he thought. He ran off a quick checklist in his mind.

Yoruichi was recuperating with a nice bottle of sake in the other room and was due to join the meeting any minute.

Aizen was dead. The Hougyoku was back in the hands of the Gotei 13 to be disposed of immediately. And the Vizard scheduled for immediate recommission – under a separate unit in the Gotei 13.

The other arrancar were dead or undergoing trial for crimes against Soul Society. Kurosaki Ichigo was expected to argue at Grimmjow's trial for his release. The Espada had supposedly helped him defeat Ulquiorra and then break Aizen's barrier enough to allow Ichigo to slip through and enter the battle in the pseudo-Karakura Town.

Now, Kurosaki Ichigo was in Tessai's care receiving medical attention. He was still unconscious, but his condition had stabilized.

Unohana had taken Aizen and Tousen's bodies back to Soul Society for further inspection – to avoid any last deception, according to Hitsugaya.

And the 10th Division's captain had taken some convincing, but thanks to Matsumoto's solemn pleas, had relinquished charge over Gin's body to Kuchiki Rukia and Matsumoto Rangiku when he had conveniently dashed back to Soul Society to check up on the re-injured Hinamori.

Ururu and Jinta had taken Gin's body and had placed it in a specially prepared, reiatsu-sealing box, and that box was now in the training arena underground, awaiting further use and out of the way so Matsumoto wouldn't have to see it.

All the remaining shinigami had gone home.

Well, almost all.

Urahara wiped the exhaustion from his face as he tilted his chin up and smiled at the two female shinigami. "Kuchiki-san! Matsumoto-san! Would you like some tea?" Urahara asked, his voice liltingly playful. "You both look quite fatigued."

Rangiku and Rukia exchanged a glance for a moment and then scooted closer to the table. Urahara noted the slightest of tensions between them. And why not?

The two shinigami hardly knew each other. One despised the fallen hero and still distrusted him in his death. The other was willing to pursue that man past his spirit's grave because she loved him.

But they were both connected.

_Kuchiki will have to take this journey with Matsumoto if she wants to eventually save the one that _she_ loves_, mused Urahara.

He sent Ururu to boil some water for tea and at Matsumoto's guilty request – and his own – retrieve two bottles of sake.

"Urahara."

"Hm?" He turned to face Rukia.

The small shinigami sat cross-legged and with crossed arms. Her annoyance showed plainly on her face. "What do you think you're doing? Hitsugaya-taichou clearly ordered the return of all three bodies, but you talked him into leaving Gin's here."

"Yes, that is correct," Urahara tilted his head so that half his face became hidden in his hat's shadow.

"Rukia-san," Matsumoto abruptly turned to Rukia. "Perhaps you should return to Soul Society."

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise. Then narrowed. "Why–?"

"What will happen here will only cause you hardship," cut in Matsumoto softly. She looked away, unable to meet Rukia's gaze.

Urahara watched Rukia's eyes soften. "Perhaps, if it will be easier on Matsumoto-fukutaichou, I will return to Soul Society as soon as Ichigo–"

"No."

All the members in the room glanced up sharply.

"Yoruichi-san?"

--

Rangiku blinked. Yoruichi leaned in the doorway, a bottle of sake in hand. No one had heard her approach the room.

"You can't leave yet," Yoruichi repeated and walked silently to Urahara's side and sat.

Rukia frowned again. "Why must I stay here?"

Urahara was silent for a moment – as if weighing the options in his mind. Then he leaned forward. "Because you must join Matsumoto-san on her journey to retrieve Gin's spirit."

The room froze for a moment. Rukia and Rangiku exploded at the same time.

"_What?!_"

"She can't come–"

"You can't drag me off to some–"

"This is _my_ burden to bear alone–"

"And what are you thinking, Urahara?! Resurrecting that creepy–"

"_Creepy_?! Gin was–"

"–a traitor!"

"–a HERO!"

"Enough!" Yoruichi held up a hand, and motioned for the two to sit.

The two shinigami sat slowly, suddenly aware that in their surprise both had leapt to their feet. But their gazes stayed locked and heated.

"Urahara," Rangiku finally left Rukia's simmering glower and turned to the exiled captain. "I assumed that you would let me go alone. Gin–"

"–would not want you dead," interrupted Urahara. His solemn eyes pierced hers. "The place you are going is not somewhere you should go without friends."

"Urahara," Rukia put a heavy hand to the tabletop. "Spirits that perish after Soul Society never return. They are recycled back into the living world. That's a balance that you should not tamper with. The procedure that you're thinking about must be highly illegal – not to mention highly dangerous."

Urahara smiled grimly. "That is why I am an exile, Kuchiki-san. Dangerous and illegal procedures are dangerous and illegal for a reason. But that does not mean that sometimes they _must not_ be used because they _should not_ be used. A life is more important than any rule book."

Rukia sighed and sat back. "I thought that you would've changed after Soul Society offered to revoke your exile status."

Rangiku saw Urahara's smile grow a bit warmer. "Well, who would save Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-san when they got into trouble here?"

"True," muttered Rukia. Then her eyes flashed up. "But still. Gin–"

"Gin sacrificed everything to save us from Aizen." Rangiku turned to Rukia. While listening to Rukia quarrel with Urahara, Rangiku had realized something. It was something that she had no right to voice aloud, but it was also something that could possibly win Rukia over to her cause. Rangiku knew that her journey would be a dangerous one, and she would need someone by her side to help her face the hardships. But she also knew that if her hunch about Rukia was right, then Rukia _had_ to come – because she _needed_ to.

But Rangiku also knew that it was not her place to say anything about it. It was a private matter for Rukia and Rukia alone. Rangiku would have to convince her some other way.

Slightly irked, Rukia opened her mouth to retort – then she caught sight of Rangiku's tensed shoulders and rigid eyes.

In her heart, Rangiku knew that Rukia sympathized with her sense of despair and pain and loss.

"Fukutaichou…" Rukia murmured.

Gathering her thoughts, Rangiku tried to explain it in a way that Rukia's heart would understand. Because it was Rukia's heart that had fallen for a certain orange-haired substitute shinigami.

"I grew up with Gin. He saved my life hundreds of times, but in the end, he deserted me," Rangiku said. Her gaze turned down. She felt uncomfortable revealing everything to Rukia, but Rangiku figured that if her hunch about Rukia was correct, then they had more in common than they had both first thought. "I followed him to Seireitei because I missed him. Because I needed him. But he had already found someone else – or so I had thought."

She glanced up suddenly. A new conviction sparked through her eyes. She was confident in her hunch about Rukia. "He fooled everyone – even Aizen – up until the very end. He did it to protect Seireitei. He did it to protect me. And I really–" A small, sad laugh escaped her lips. "I really want to hate him for all the crap that he's put me through. But I find that I can't."

She smiled sadly. "Because I love him."

Rukia's eyes suddenly grew wide, and a delicate hand flew to rest on her lips. She quickly snatched her hand away, and her eyes fluttered down. The slightest of blushes tinted her cheeks.

The room was silent for a moment. Then two.

Rangiku almost sighed. Her hunch was wrong after all. There was no way a Kuchiki could ever fall for a human–

"I will go with you."

Rangiku blinked, barely daring to breathe. "What–"

Rukia met her gaze, and Rangiku caught the understanding and warmth in Rukia's eyes. Rukia smiled.

"I want to help you."

Rangiku felt the tears glazing her eyes and leapt forward, entangling Rukia in a warm embrace and squashing her up against a very well-endowed chest.

"Oh, arigatou! Arigatou, Rukia-san!"

Urahara laughed and turned to Yoruichi. "Oh, Yoruichi-san! How very touching!"

Rangiku saw the nerve in Rukia's forehead pulsing in annoyance. Slightly miffed herself, Rangiku turned to Urahara.

"Way to ruin the moment, Urahara-san!" she said, lips at full pout.

--

Rangiku sipped lightly at her sake. It wasn't that the alcohol was no good. The quality was excellent. She just wanted to be alert for the briefing.

Urahara began. "You both know that Soul Society is made up of reishi – spirit particles."

They both nodded.

"Well, during one of my studies as the Shinigami Research Institute Head, I discovered something very interesting." Urahara brought out a small chalkboard from under his robe.

He drew four vertical lines, dividing the board into fifths. Giving commentary as he worked, Urahara wrote the words 'Living World' in the first box on the left. He scrawled in the very bottom of the box, 'humans'.

"Now, let's say that each of these boxes is a separate dimension. This–" Urahara tapped the 'Living World' lightly with his chalk. "–is where we are now."

Turning to the other end of the chalkboard, he wrote, 'Soul Society' and underneath, 'shinigami'.

"We all know that Soul Society and the Living World exist in separate dimensions, as does–" Urahara wrote in the very center box. " –'Hueco Mundo' with the 'hollows and arrancar'."

"What are the two empty boxes then?" Rangiku asked. "What other dimensions are there?"

Frowning, Rukia sat deep in thought. "The dangai," she said finally. "It's the dimension that was created as a barrier to keep foreign entities from entering Soul Society."

Urahara waved his chalk at her. "Correct, Kuchiki-san. But at the same time, incorrect." He wrote in 'Dangai' in the space between 'Soul Society' and 'Hueco Mundo'. "The Central 46 Chambers put out the information that the dangai keeps out hollows. I had researched it and knew it all to be a lie, but they insisted that false information be released in order to keep the public's state of mind at peace.

"To enforce the belief that it keeps out hollows, the Central 46 Chambers ordered me, as the Head of the Shinigami Research Institute, to create a system of reishi-absorbing masses that could be released into this dimension and act as further protection against hollows entering from Hueco Mundo."

"The 'Capturing Wall'?" Rukia blinked. "Ichigo told me about it. He said that it ate reishi and could kill you if it absorbed you."

"Yes," Urahara said. "And it did work to keep out the smaller hollows."

"But as you both saw," Yoruichi continued for Urahara, "Menos can easily break through the dangai – like when they rescued Aizen."

"It wasn't a design flaw though," defended Urahara. "They got through mainly because there were so many of them. The Menos layered on top of each other, and as the ones on bottom got eaten up by the Capturing Wall, the higher ones managed to make contact with Aizen. They were the ones that survived. " Urahara shook his head. "Terrible, barbaric behavior. Very typical of hollows."

Rangiku and Rukia glanced at each other. Wasn't that typical Urahara Kisuke behavior also? Trample on others to get ahead? – But very discreetly.

"But," Urahara continued, "my invention caused a problem within the dangai. And this led to the discovery of reishi-flow."

"Reishi-flow?"

"Yes," Urahara nodded. "As we agreed before, Soul Society is made up of reishi, yes?"

Both nodded.

"And where does reishi come from?"

"The human world," piped up Rangiku.

"Correct, Matsumoto-san! Reishi is given off by human souls as they mature and age. So how does it get to Soul Society?"

This time both Rukia and Rangiku were stumped and stayed silent, thinking. No one had ever questioned this far. Even in the Academy, they hadn't learned any of this.

After a moment of silence, Urahara continued. "It comes–" With heavy deliberateness, he drew a dark arrow from the 'Living World' box to 'Soul Society'. "–through the dangai. And since the Capturing Wall was eating all the reishi passing through, nothing could reach Soul Society."

Rukia blinked, alarmed. "But that would mean the destruction of Soul Society!"

Urahara nodded calmly. "Suddenly aware of the drastic drop in spirit particles – but unwilling to let me remove the Capturing Wall – the Central 46 ordered me to create something that would function to clear paths for reishi to pass through to support the newly discovered reishi-flow."

"The Capturing Thrust," Rukia said.

"So Ichigo told you of that also?" asked Urahara. He turned back to his chalkboard. "The Capturing Thrust allows reishi to pass through. It closes certain reishi pathways and opens new ones at random every seven days to keep up with the guise of being a shield against a hollow invasion from Hueco Mundo."

Urahara paused for a moment, allowing Rukia and Rangiku to absorb all the information. "And that is how reishi-flow works."

Rangiku blinked and shook her aching, spinning head. "But what does this have to do with Gin? And the arrancar and vizard?"

"I was just getting there." Urahara turned back to the board. "The dangai is not the only dimension devoted to reishi-flow."

On the board, he circled the only empty box. It lay between the Living World and Hueco Mundo. He looked up.

"This is your destination. This is the _Abismo_ – the Abyss."

--

_Gin believed that all people had darkness. It was inside everyone. It was inside the old man who made the little kids draw water from the river just so he could sell it. It was inside the kids who had finally gotten sick of the old man and had thrown rocks at him until he had collapsed, bloodied and broken. And it was inside himself, who had led the attack because the old man had beaten the smallest child for slacking off when she was sick._

_Gin knew darkness. Sometimes he felt all the evil and wrongness curl up inside of him – comfortable and warm. Like it belonged there. _

_All the other kids said that he was selfish. And Gin agreed. When he gathered food, it was only for himself. But then again, he was the only one who had to eat. Everyone else only needed water. The selfishness was just a little chunk of his darkness._

_The other kids noticed his hoarding and grumbled behind his back. Gin just didn't like that they thought they could peek inside his head like that. _

_You had to keep them guessing or else you would become predictable. Where was the fun in that?_

_So when he saw her lying on the ground, he was about to pass her up – maybe even step on her body – but then he stopped._

_Why not use this as proof to the others that they couldn't even begin to understand the likes of Ichimaru Gin? Then, when he had made his point, he would toss her aside like the garbage that she was – that they all were. Like the garbage that everyone had always treated him like. _

_But things didn't go as planned._

_Gin sauntered up to her, then ran a bit. He didn't _want_ to help – truly! He just didn't want his plan to go to waste now that he'd thought of it._

_Slightly mad at himself for putting out the effort, even while pretending, he bent down. _

_Her eyes were unblinking. Maybe he was already too late. Then he saw her thin chest tremble and rise, then collapse again. She was alive, so why was she dying?_

_Her lips were moist, and her eyes were not sunken. Gin had seen children dying of thirst, and she wasn't dehydrated…_

_Then he realized. She was dying of starvation. He glanced down at the bundle of food in his arms and frowned. This was for him to eat. But she was dying…_

_But that was beside the point! It was his food!_

_Although if he shared his food, it would confuse the others all the more… And he had never really met anyone else who had to eat to survive, like he did…_

_Without looking at her, he thrust a piece of dried meat to her lips. "Eat."_

_Was she too dead to even eat? At the thought, his heart jerked inside his chest. He had no time to question this strange, terrified emotion. _

_Her eyelids fluttered. _

_Automatically, Gin snapped his eyes closed. The other kids always said that his eyes were freaky. Nobody else had red eyes. _

_So he kept his eyes shut – But only to hone his senses, he told himself. It wasn't because he actually cared about what everyone else had to say about him. Definitely not!_

"_The fact that you fainted from hunger means that you have it too, right?" Gin forced the words out. He hated being kind to others, but he had learned early on from the old man that kindness and smiles – even fake ones – could be useful to manipulate others. It was just another little chunk of the darkness that lived inside him. "Power, I mean."_

_She was silent for a moment, and Gin wondered if she was one of those foreign people who couldn't speak normally. All sorts of people lived in Rukongai._

_Then she murmured, "…You too?"_

_Her voice was so delicate and airy… Like an angel's…_

_Gin felt his heart jump in his chest. "Yeah. Me too," he managed to choke out. He gathered his fluttering thoughts and tried to quiet his pounding heart. Embarrassed, he wondered if she could hear it. "Ichimaru Gin. Nice to meet ya."_

_"Gin… What a weird name…"_

_His carefully collected thoughts went scattering again, like fall leaves strewn by winter wind. Before he could think, his eyes flew open. He laughed, masking his slight anger. "Well–"_

_She laughed, but truly. A light, calming sound. _

_Gin's heart beat faster. She mustered the strength to turn her head up to face him. A pair of blue eyes – fierce, but warm – stared up at him. Her eyes smiled at him. _

_"There's the real you," she said simply. _

_Gin's eyes widened – then he realized they were open, and he snapped them shut. What did she mean the real him? Had she seen through his plan? Could she tell that he was being fake? Did she know? How could she tell?_

_What a scary person…_

_"Your eyes are weird too."_

_He frowned and scrunched his eyes closed tighter. Now she was making fun of him!_

_But then she spoke again. "I like them. They're like the earliest part of the sunrise."_

_His frown lightened. He peeked half an eye open at her. "You're the weird one."_

_Through the slit of an opening, he watched her grin. _

_"Red is close to pink. I like–" A broken, muffled cough scattered her voice. Her grin fell away. She couldn't cover her mouth, and her whole body rattled with the force of the cough. She finally stopped, and Gin noticed a tightening in his own chest. He wanted to try to cough and get rid of it, but she would call him weird again._

_"I like pink…" she finished slowly, her vice fading. "Pink and… grey…"_

_Gin watched her sink back into the dirt. His hand snapped forward before he could catch it. He shook her shoulder. "Hey! You ok?"_

_Frantic, he tore off little pieces of the dried meat. Kneeling, he leaned forward. He put his hand to her mouth._

_"C'mon. Eat!" _

_One of her eyes creaked open. She smiled weakly at him. Her lips parted slightly, allowing him to slip the meat into her mouth. Her jaw worked slowly, tiredly. _

_After waiting what seemed like a lifetime to Gin, she swallowed. _

_Waiting patiently, he fed her tiny piece by tiny piece until he only had two strips of meat left. _

_Oddly enough, Gin found that he didn't mind. _

_His eyes were open now. He was watching her. Her eyes were more alive. More alert. It made him… happy._

_"What's your name?" The words tumbled from his mouth. He pressed his lips together. He had learned to measure his words carefully after his years in Rukongai. The other kids were like a pack of wild animals. They knew fear and fed off of it. So loose words were for the weak. _

_But she was different from the others. Her hair, though matted and dirty, shone like gold in the sunlight. It entranced him. _

_It was like she was made of light… She shone on his darkness. _

_She made him want to be made of light too._

_She smiled up at him, and struggled into a sitting position. _

"_Matsumoto Rangiku."_

--

Thanks to Shanyetta, vaz, jen, DeafLizgon, chibihana, Annaoj, and AisuHime for the reviews!! :D You made my day warm and fuzzy. hhahaha

I swear... This chapter was a fluke. I don't normally write this much for one chapter. xP Craziness... 5,764 words without the author's notes.

So, yeah... don't get your hopes up for future chapters. :D

I'm going to Anime Expo as Hinamori Momo! Jennifer (the girl this is dedicated to) is Orihime, and the girl my SasuSaku fanfic _Trapped in Reality_ is dedicated to, Alison, is going as Soi Fong. Anybody else going? :D

--K


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